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It was three short years ago that I posted about our first Christmas with a toddler and how we were enjoying nightly Hallmark movies and upgrading our yard decorations. Three years later, we are bringing in the holiday with four toddlers. The magic has grown, along with our inflatable light collection, but the chaos has unleashed its fury too. We are no longer the Hallmark-movie Christmas.

Our tree has been sitting bare in the living room since the day after Thanksgiving … 12 days now. That Advent Nativity calendar I was so sure was going to help me teach the kids the real meaning of the holiday has yet to be started. (No worries, there were some extra barn animals I was able to shift around … if I start tonight, we’ll still be on track!) Our picture with Santa wasn’t themed or prepped … the kids were in t-shirts and tennis shoes.

However, we did decorate our older boys’ rooms with fun felt garland. They were so proud of them. They were also very proud when they cut the string and made all the balls fall off.

Mom wasn’t as proud.

The best buy of the season has been the little felt Christmas tree. The big boys like to put the ornaments on and the twins like to take them off. It has made for daily Christmas fun around here. We continued our annual tradition of attending the Festival of Angels and Christmas parade. I even picked up some Christmas books to read to the boys … They are still sitting in the car. Last week, I was laying on my husband’s chest sobbing at what a no-good, horrible day it had been, and how I wasn’t making headway on any of my tasks. I don’t know much of what he said except he nicknamed me “Dragon Slayer.” He explained that I am in the line of fire all day, that I am dodging flaming balls of fire–and that I’m slaying it. I have a lot of boys so this explanation worked for me.

Fast forward a few days and I have come down with the flu. It’s surprising because I am NEVER the one sick in our house. But I have to say, the past few days of lying in bed and watching the world move without me has been good for my soul. It is hard to see your spouse work so hard and be exhausted, and it is the pits to have those flu muscle aches, but I have a front seat at a new perspective. I am getting to watch my job and my family from the spectator seat.

It has taken a village of people to absorb our childcare needs. My husband is on overdrive to get everyone where they need to be. The house is a wreck.

But I still hear the kids laughing.

I am still getting smothered in hugs.

And after some good nighttime Theraflu, this Dragon Slayer is declaring this the best holiday season yet!